Flat Earthism: Navigating Its Ascension, Societal Influence, & Constructive Dialogues
In my 40 years on this earth, I have not directly met a person who believed that the earth is flat. This changed several months ago where the idea was proposed to me during a dinner conversation. I do my best to try to understand where people are coming from and why they hold particular beliefs. So, rather than laughing or disregarding the idea, I asked questions. The answers I received sparked a personal deep dive on flat-earthism where I read conversations on Twitter/X, viewed lots of Youtube videos, and asked even more questions. After spending quite a lot of time on this, what follows is my take on the phenomenon and why continues grow over time, how I see it relating to recent social issues, and some suggestions on how to approach potential conversations with a flat earther.
First, let’s get review a few specific items that flat earthers believe. What is interesting in my experience is that not all flat earthers believe exactly the same things, but there does seem to be agreement in several areas.
Flat earth map with Antarctica ice wall
The earth is not a sphere but rather a flat plane or disc.
The earth, not the sun, is the center of our universe.
Antarctica is not a continent as we know it, but an ice wall surrounding the edges of the earth. This ice wall cannot be visited because global militaries and NASA guard it and do not allow access to it.
Flat earthers often cite biblical passages such as the reference to "the firmament" in the book of genesis as evidence that the sky is depicted as a solid dome overlying a flat earth.
There is no concept of space or leaving the earths atmosphere. Thus, things like the moon landing, satellites, anything to do with NASA, SpaceX or other space programs or any photos or videos from space, are all fabricated in some way.
In this same vein, NASA, related scientific and non-scientific communities (astronomers, geologists, surveyors, pilots etc.), and all world governments and space agencies are either part of a conspiracy to hide the fact that the earth is flat from all humanity, or, are unknowing participants that have been indoctrinated into the lie.
The above lies and conspiracies are carried out by an elite group of wealthy individuals. Free Masons and The Rothchilds came up a lot in my research, but they aren’t the only ones.
The reason for the alleged coverup that all parties mentioned above take part in is for the elite to hide the true “truth” from the masses: that the earth is flat and that are known universe was created by god. Flat earthers believe that if the masses knew this truth, that these wealthy elites would no longer be able to control us. We would be “free”. Thus, they fight to keep alive the lie that we live on a globe, not a flat plane or disc covered by a dome that is the center of the known universe.
Trust me, there is a lot more than just that, but I tried to distill what I believe to be some of the biggest and most "important" beliefs, according to my research. There is something about flat-earthism that feels like one of the biggest rabbit holes I have ever experienced. There are myriad talking points and different takes on "evidence" constantly being analyzed and rehashed constantly in places like Twitter/X and Youtube. It’s wild out there folks! I felt at times I was being sucked into this world, and I can see why people can easily get swept up in it all. More on that in a moment.
Strong Convictions & Lots of Time Spent
To be clear, I do not believe the earth is flat. However, there was an incredibly short moment or two where they had me wondering (yes it is true). That is because I do agree with them on one critical point. I think this is one of the primary reasons flat earthism is alive and well today, and from what I can see, continues to grow. Simply put, many people believe they are being lied to, and these days it is often hard to believe what is real or not. In my opinion, living in a world that you can’t have much trust in makes lots of things seem more possible.
It was in this belief that I was able to actually connect with the person who told me their flat earth theory, rather than immediately laughing them off as I’ve seen many people do. Because I do believe all parties in governments lie to us (often), I do believe that corporations deeply influence most governments in order maximize profits, maintain control, and drive narratives. And, I do believe that there is near zero media organizations that tell what is actually going on in the world and instead feed a corporately driven agenda that they want people to hear.
If flat earth were true, it would require the biggest conspiracy theory ever known.
I think that as people become aware of this manipulation and as overall trust in manipulations weakens, anyone can become more open to conspiracy theories. I’m not knocking conspiracy theories either. For one, I’m a person who believes the United States was directly involved in 9/11 (and happy to discuss if you’d like to). But, as people lose more trust in the world I think we’ll see not only more conspiracies, but conspiracies that seem farther from reality, or, from what we can prove with science or math.
As you might imagine, this is an extremely polarizing topic. Many in the scientific community are downright insulted by flat earthers because their beliefs against much of what they have spent their lives studying: looking at data, testing and proving theories through calculations on physics etc,; things that flat earthers rarely take part in. I see the polarization as deeply unfortunate because we are polarized on so many other areas such as race, sex, transsexuality, war, political parties, guns, abortion, homelessness, and the list goes on. I see too much time being spent on this topic, both from flat earthers going to the ends of the earth (sorry) to find evidence that proves their beliefs, to those that spend countless hours trying to debunk flat earth. It is just such another huge time suck that divides many people while actual elites work to gain more power and wealth.
But, I simply wonder: what do we expect? Is this all really that crazy to see happening? To me, it isn’t. For many, the world is getting harder, more divided, more “us against them”. Institutions are failing us and lying to us. People have less sturdy foundations and the idea of thriving in life seems out of reach. For people that don’t know what to believe in anymore, people that might be down, lost, or lonely, flat earthism offers a group of energized people that have a purpose and provide connection. It is a place where there is shared belief, a lot of enthusiasm, something that can be fought for, and a large group of people to fight against. It is a place I’m sure many feel special and alive.
I’ve recently talked about articles mentioning male suicide rates, a declining number of men finishing high school and college, and becoming more isolated. I haven’t been able to find any numbers, but from what I’ve seen online and in some documentaries, the ratio of men to women in flat earth spaces is stark. I see a connection between these phenomena. Add social media and the ability to make money from clicks and views of these arguments, and you’ve got a recipe for proliferation of flat earth believers and a lot of wasted time on both sides of the argument.
Advice For An Encounter With A Flat Earther
So what can we do? If you encounter a flat earther in the near future, what could you say to them? I think it is worth trying to have an actual conversation and doing your best to connect with them. What they believe might feel maddening, especially if you’re a scientist or someone who works in a field where you must account for the earth being a sphere and having curvature, but I truly believe underneath these beliefs, we want many of the same things.
I present to you my final suggestions on how to approach a conversation with a flat earther as well as some of my favorite content speaking to proof that the earth is a globe.
Conversation Suggestions
Be aware that flat earthers seem to have an answer for everything. You could have many points and beliefs on the topic and I assure you they’ll likely have a retort for each one. Consider this before and during going into a conversation.
It is your choice to entertain a conversation or not. If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to. You can always respectfully state your beliefs and that you’d rather not talk about the subject.
Know that a person might have these beliefs for much of the same reasons you are upset with the bad things that are happening in the world. This is an opportunity for connection. I believe that even if we have major differences, there are lots of places we can agree. I hope that we can all work towards moments of connection rather than immediately battling.
A great way to end things is saying that you simply don’t agree. Another thing I believe is that even if there were some universe where the earth was in fact flat, there are still a lot more important things going on in the world that I want to focus my attention. As hard as it might be to do, you also let the person know you honor where they are coming from and their right to believe what they want. I know this might sound like a really tough thing to do, but if we don’t start practicing connection in these moments, our divides will continue to grow.
Flat Earth Debunking Content
I watched a good amount of video during my research on flat earth. While there are many things that point to actual evidence that the earth is round that you can speak to should you ever need, these are some of my favorites channels and videos.
Professor Dave is a scientist who has lots of content on his channel and a section on flat earth. He takes an aggressive and often insulting stance against flat earthers in his videos. While I disagree with that approach, his videos are quite informative. Here are some favorites.
Destroying Flat Earth Without Using Science - Part 1: The Moon
Destroying Flat Earth Without Using Science - Part 4: The Conspiracy
Dave goes deep on debunking flat earth claims and goes to a great level of detail in short segments while not being overly insulting which I appreciate. I also enjoy listening to his accent.
This was one of my longer articles so, if you made it to the end, thank you! I love conversation on all topics so if you have any feedback don’t hesitate to reach out via socials found in my footer or my contact page.
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